Verklärte Nacht
by Phedre no Delaunay
Summary: Two people are walking through a bare, cold wood:the moon keeps pace with them and draws their gaze:The moon moves along above tall oak trees:there is no wisp of cloud to obscure the radiance:to which the black, jagged tips reach up:A woman's voice speaks


My main inspiration for this story was a poem, Verklärte Nacht, by Richard Dehmel. The translation of the title is Transfigured Night, and the translation I use is by Mary Whittall. I won't give you the poem yet, as it could, theoretically, spoil some stuff, but it is my main inspiration.

Arnold Schönberg, an Avant-garde German composer from the early twentieth century, wrote a piece based on the poem, and it has provided some inspiration as well. If you can find the piece on the Internet, I highly recommend it.

As with the poem and song, this story will be told in five parts. They do not correspond perfectly with the poem, but if they did, it would get really boring and serve no purpose. I could simply give you the poem and let you imagine the story on your own.

And now, on with the fic...

**Part One**

Baby Emiko slept in a cradle near the kitchen hearth to ward off the night's chill. In a year or two she would be old enough to sleep in a bed in the room with her siblings. Keilantra doubted, though, that she would be around to see her sister grow. Emiko would soon be walking and talking, but without one of her sisters. Would their parents speak fondly of her? Curse her for her sin? Or would it simply be too painful to bring up a lost child? Would Emiko find it in her little heart to be forgiving? Or would she feel hatred, anger, betrayal?

Keilantra gently lifted the sleeping infant from her crib, holding her close and kissing her one last time. For many years, Emiko would not understand just why her sister had abandoned the family. When finally she realized, it would be too late to diminish years of anguish, and Keilantra did not hope for forgiveness. However, it was the only way. She could not remain in the village. There was no other solution, no matter how painful it was to leave her family.

After a moment, she tucked Emiko back into her cradle, letting her hand linger against the baby's cheek until finally she turned away. Silently, she padded away, toward the pantry. There, she removed a loaf of bread, some cheese and a sprig of berries. She tucked the food away in a small knapsack, which she tossed over her shoulder. The food would last her a couple of days, and by then she would be in Ningenkai. Hopefully.

She stopped at the front door, turning back to give one last glance to the house in which she'd lived her entire life. It was dark, with nothing more than the dying fire in the hearth and the moon shining through the open door to give light. At the back of the house, she knew, her parents slept, unaware of their daughter's sin, unaware of her plans to leave. Up in the loft, her brother and sister dreamt, also unaware. Before she left, she offered a quiet prayer to the Mother Goddess to protect her family and their village. Then, she eased the door closed and strode down the path.

She had hardly made it off her father's property when a pair of lithe arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"Where are you off to?"

She recognized the voice immediately. It belonged to the older sister who still lived with them—Masako. Aneko, their eldest sister, was married and lived with her husband, so Masako had taken over the task of watching out for the younger children. Keilantra leaned back into her sister's embrace.

"I must leave." She turned and faced her sister, tears threatening to spill from her big, green eyes. "I have shamed our family, and for that I am truly sorry. Please, you must wait until morning..."

Masako reached up and brushed the bangs from out of her sister's face. "What could you have done that's so wrong?

Keilantra did not want to tell her sister, did not want to admit to her sin. But she had never been able to hide anything from Masako. So, she told her sister everything, occasionally pausing to wipe away the tears. Masako listened intently and embraced her sister. She didn't want Keilantra to leave, didn't think the crime so terrible. But the younger girl had made up her mind, and there would be no arguments.

"Be careful," Masako whispered. Keilantra pulled out of the embrace and nodded.

"Watch over Emiko, especially."

Keilantra gave her sister an unsteady smile and then disappeared into the night. She would go to Ningenkai and try to make a life there. Nothing was left for her in Makai but shame and misery.

She wasn't sure if her plan to live in Ningenkai was legal or not, but as she did not intend to harm its inhabitants, she assumed it would be all right. Her contact, a virtual stranger, assured her that she would not be hunted down if she maintained a low cover. He had already arranged a place to stay for her, as well as supplies for a significant amount of time. For the time being, she would be safe and reasonably well cared for.

It had cost her no small price, though. In exchange for a guide into Ningenkai, she'd given up the jewels that were to be her dowry. They would be useless where she was going, but they had been important to her for most of her life. Such beautiful gems indicated a wealthy father, and she had always been proud of that. Masa had worked hard his entire life to provide a pleasant life for his family. It only added to Keilantra's shame, knowing she had thrown all of that hard work away.

The sun was rising when she came upon the stranger who offered to help her to Ningenkai. He was a friendly sort, and she'd trusted him the moment she met him. She had no doubt he was making a profit, but it was a cost she was willing to pay. Once she arrived and rested a moment after the long walk, he took her by the arm, and they crossed into Ningenkai.

The shelter he had provided for her was called an apartment, and she wasn't sure she liked it. It was five stories off the ground, and she immediately felt Mother Earth's absence. Her people were of the Earth, and not having her feet firmly planted was unnerving. There was little furniture and no personal effects to make it homey, and she couldn't help but feel like she was invading someone else's home. Still, she had a small allowance of human money, and the stranger encouraged her to eventually build up a personal supply of knick-knacks.

He gave her a quick tour, which included brief explanations for all the strange human devices, and promised to return in the morning for further instructions. It was night in Ningenkai, and she had not slept for a long time. Most of the information he imparted to her would be forgotten, and he seemed to realize this. Bidding her goodnight, he left the apartment and she was alone.

She had never been on her own before. Her parents had, on occasion, left the farm in the care of their children, but Aneko and Masako had always been there. Her brother, Masakazu, too. While she figured she could go through the motions of living—eating and so forth—she wondered if the solitude would affect her. She thought it probably would. She would eventually have to leave the apartment and interact with the humans, learn their culture and become friends with some of them. Otherwise, she'd go crazy.

She tried not to dwell on such thoughts as she prepared for bed. She pulled her long, brown hair into a quick braid, and then slipped out of her dress. The bed was warm and softer than anything she'd ever slept on. Still, she tossed and turned for some minutes, far too many thoughts on her mind for sleep to come easy. Finally, she gazed out the window at the moon, large and bright. Again, she offered prayers for the safekeeping of her family and her village, and the comfort of the familiar action eventually lulled her into sleep.

* * *

The actual characters from Yu Yu Hakusho will turn up in the next chapter, I promise. However, this needed to be set up. Also, future chapters will be longer. This is just a sort of introduction.

As for my main OC...I'm working to avoid Mary-Sue-dom. She won't be paired with anyone from YYH, so don't worry about that. And, she won't be fighting, so don't worry about uber-powerful whatever.

I prefer constructive criticism over "gr8, writ more!11" so please, if you review, try to be helpful. Even if you just say "hey, I liked this part" or "hey, you suck at grammar" or whatever. It doesn't need to be long or anything.


End file.
